Vintage Lighting

I buy almost any industrial vintage light fitting and mainly look for factory pendants and work lights. I also convert old theatre and film set lights into feature floor lamps.

I have a workshop in Bristol and a team of lighting restoration experts. We clean, rewire and test all the vintage fittings ahead of photographing them and displaying them in the showroom.

As this side of the business has grown so has our expertise and tooling meaning we can now customise vintage items and turn them into unique and exquisite lights. Below are some examples of our bespoke light fittings.

A converted 1940s New York Gumball machine. The workshop fitted a working dimmer switch behind the coin turnkey they then had to customize a new fixing plate and come up with an ingenious way to hold the glass securely onto the base as the central fixing rod had been removed to make room for the new lamp.

A converted 1940s copper fire extinguisher from New Zealand, we turned this into a gorgeous side light. Fitting a table light shade holder to the top of the can and finishing it off with a new black fabric shade to contrast the beautiful copper base and a vibrant fabric covered cable.

A converted 1930s British railway sleeper, we turned this into a feature pendant light. This project took over 20 hours and we began by hand filing the back of the sleeper out to reduce its weight. From above the sleeper is now hollow like a boat and this space provided a perfect place to situate the wiring connections and terminals. We then had the metal supports, which attach the chain to the ceiling plate, custom made at a local blacksmiths. Finally we wrapped the sleeper with vintage look brown twisted cable and hung ten filament lamps below the sleeper at varied heights.

Hire lights for weddings, photo shoots or stage props.

If you are a registered company we do not take a deposit for the light prop. You will need to collect the light and sign a contract accepting the value of the fitting and our terms and conditions. If you are not hiring our lighting on behalf of a company we will need proof of identification ie a passport or a driving licence. We will also take a 30% deposit for each fitting taken. Payment can be made using a debit card, cash or a bank transfer. The minimum hire period is 1 week. So if you take the fitting from us on a Monday you have until the following Monday to return it back to us. We do not deliver our lighting it must be collected from our Bristol showroom.

Hire costs

Fitting value £10-£100 + cost of hire £25*

Fitting value £100-£250 + cost of hire £50*

Fitting value £250-£500 + cost of hire £100*

Fitting value £500-£1000 + cost of hire £150*

Fitting value £1000 + cost of hire £200*

Fitting value £1500 + cost of hire £250*

*Including VAT per week

Additional

After the first week the fitting hire is then calculated at a day rate which is the initial weekly hire cost divided by 7. So if the fitting costs £100 for the first week the day cost thereafter would be £14.28 inc vat. When you return the fitting to us the hire cost will be calculated. A full VAT invoice will then be provided for the hire value. If you want to hire multiple pieces we are happy to discuss a discount on the above prices. All our vintage lights come with a vintage style lamp, they are pat tested and come wired with a UK plug. We can change the plug to a 5amp round pin plug or a 16amp 3 pin plug. This will cost £5 per item.

Categories

Vintage Lighting

Buying, restoring and selling vintage lighting

is one of my biggest passions and the area of my work I enjoy the most.

These pieces are all one off ideas.

We have many more custom pieces and concepts in the workshop every week. Each piece is bespoke and handmade.They all come with a small plaque carrying the Fraser Besant lighting brand.

Purchase restored, bespoke vintage lighting online.

To view any of the lights in my collection before making a purchase then please come to my lighting showroom in Bristol, any inspection is welcome.